Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast Ryokan Dances Dogen
Jul 28, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Genzan Kennell, a Sensei at Upaya Zen Center, blends the teachings of Zen masters Dogen and Ryokan with modern Butoh dance. He reflects on the poetic wisdom found in Ryokan's life and how it can serve as a choreography for Zen practice. Genzan shares personal connections to Ryokan’s poetry, emphasizing themes of solitude and mindful communication. He highlights Dogen's teachings on simplicity and stillness, urging listeners to embrace non-doing amidst chaos. Overall, the conversation is a rich exploration of art, compassion, and the essence of true Dharma.
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Dogen And Ryokan Lineage
- Dogen founded Soto Zen in Japan and wrote deep teachings like the Shobo Genzo that shaped practice for centuries.
- Ryokan lived later as a hermit poet whose life embodied those teachings in everyday play and calligraphy.
Poetry As Choreography
- Butoh is a Japanese modern dance with a specific poetic choreography called buto-fu that guides movement from imagery.
- Treat Ryokan's poems as buto-fu: practical choreography for living Dogen's practice as a dance.
Cultivate Fewer Desires
- Reduce desires to lessen suffering and cultivate contentment in daily life.
- Aim to want less so a simple floating life suffices, as Ryokan models.
